Hile approved of Xaron's suggestion. "Well, he does kinda owe you an arm. Maybe you can take his."

"Enough!" Kirgan snapped. "Don't you see? The moment we give him up, he's gone for good. There's no way after that to check any information by him. And if the Ussalry finds out he's from the past and part of a secret organization, they will start investigating the laboratory and... that means nothing more to do for us."

"Ah, I get it", Hile said. "You've got a taste of adventure and don't wanna give it up, eh?"

The red-clad skakdi wiped sweat off her forehead, then knelt down and picked up the chunks of ore she had extracted from the cave wall, placing them in her now full mining-satchel. Dia looked into the direction they came from "About time we head back to the village, don't you think?". Ankarya looked at the unconscious jaga-beast laying beside them in the tunnel, which they were forced to confront earlier. "Yeah, the satchel is full, let's get back."

After tracking their way all the way back to the uppermost level of the mines, the duo exited the mines through the lift, arriving finally in the village after a bountiful mining-trip. Ankarya, with Dia on her back, walked one of the Onu-Koro stalls to grab a bite, which was near the Onu-Wahi highway. They would save their supplies for later.

From the tunnel leading to the bowels of Makuta's realm, the infamous "Darkwalk", she came, looming like a ghostly after-image rising from the ground, staggering forth with what little strength she had left.

Her vision was blurring, patches of black creeping into it like leftovers from her trip to to Mangaia, like the darkness had tainted her soul, one which was already tainted by past wrongs that could never be undone.

She was weak; physically and mentally drained, and she was dead tired.

She fainted.

OOC: One injured De-Toa open for interaction at the entrance to Onu-Koro.

A toa of sonics emerged from the tunnels, but close by, Ankarya and Dia were eating a nice meal. Dia noticed the toa, but paid little heed to her until she fell to the floor. "Oh my spirit! What happened to her?"With those words, Dia's skakdi partner turned and looked at the injured toa on the cave floor. Ankarya shrugged and turned back to her meal. "I don't know, and it isn't really our business."

Dia frowned at Ankarya. "We're closest to her, so I'd say we have some responsibility towards her." Ankarya looked up from her meal and raised an eyebrow. "That makes no sense." Dia shook her head. "I don't care, we have to help her." Ankarya sighed. "Fiiine, we'll go check on her" Ankarya stood up and helped Dia onto her back, then walked over to the unconscious toa. "Hey! Are you ok?"

"She's unconscious, Ankarya, she's not going to answer that." Ankarya growled. "I can see that now! I was checking if she was still conscious!" The skakdi knelt by the unconscious toa. "Either way, she needs to be treated medically. We need to get her to a hospital." Ankarya breathed out heavily. "Alright, guess that's one more passenger on Ankarya express."

The skakdi picked up the unconscious toa, and carried her into the village, while Dia guided her to the medical facility. Arriving there, with the toa in her arms, Ankarya, along with Dia, quickly called help. Medical personnel soon arrived and took the wounded toa into immediate treatment.

The Onu-Koro hospital was a very advanced, yet still somehow relatively spartan affair. Being situated in the Koro of functionality and technological advancement mixed with hard labor and tunnelling had that effect.

Onu-Matoran Nurse Kay knew this well, she also knew how to deal with concerned friends and relatives of patients. But this situation was different. A Toa had been brought to them with a severe back injury by a Skakdi and Matoran pair who told them they'd only just seen her emerge from the Darkwalk (shudder) only to collapse right then and there.

The Toa was currently sedated, and her injuries were being treated. Kay decided to take the time to console the Samaritans who were waiting in the lobby.

She entered the lobby with a welcoming smile draped on her Noble Hau, approaching Ankarya and Dia.

"Ankarya and Dia, no? I'm sure you're anxious to hear what the state of the patient is" she said, with a rather serious undertone.

She looked at her notepad, rereading the information to make sure she'd gotten it right.

"Her back has suffered a particularly nasty cut, probably with some sort of bladed weapon... she was carrying a Rahkshi Staff, wasn't she?"

Ankarya flinched slightly at the mention of fighting a rahkshi, then looked at the nurse. "Tough girl." Dia, with an expression of concern, glanced to Ankarya, then back to Kay. "I really don't care how she was injured, I just want to know how well she'll recover."

Dia looked at her partner, then back to the nurse. Ankarya didn't seem to care, and it was clear as day that she was VERY bored, what with her looking up to the ceiling, and her slow but gradual movement from the chair to the ground. "Well, that's not too unusual, is it? I mean, not everyone is too integrated into the system, what with straying nomads, adventures and all." Dia looked down to the floor, her expression of concern very clear.

The matoran of iron looked down at the ground. On one hand, she felt bad that she was keeping her partner, Ankarya, waiting in a situation she really didn't care for, but on the other hand, she felt a bit of responsibility towards the unconscious toa. On the third hand (which she obviously didn't physically possess), she felt bad for the nurse, her having to deal with (probably yet another) nameless patient. Dia looked at the nurse flicking through her notes, then shifted her eyes to look at her... oh, Ankarya was laying on the ground now...

And bored out of her mind she was. There she lay, with nothing but he ceiling to entertain her, and it was nothing but white-woven tiles, with the same exact pattern, again and again and again and... no, this would not do. She got on her feet and stood facing Dia. Time, she felt, to speak her mind. Ankarya was about to open her mouth when Dia suddenly spoke.

"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't keep you here like this, but I feel like we should see if she'll regain consciousness soon."The matoran looked up to Ankarya, her expression a mix of concern, a dash of sadness, but also fatigue, after all, it had been a while since either of them got any sleep...

"Yeah, well, I'm not waiting here any more than an hour more, then we're leaving, whether you like it or not."

The main lobby of the hospital was relatively empty, so there wasn't really any "audience" for this conversation aside from the nurse. The skakdi sat down again, and huffed out of impatience and overwhelming boredom.

Khervos and Tuli led Noka to Ferron's forge. It was not surprising that the door was locked.

"Now, if we could get inside, we could try and find out what supplies Ferron has taken with him and thus get a clue as to where he went...", Khervos said thoughtfully.

Tuli grinned and produced a key from her purse. "Spare key. Will this do?" She chuckled.

Khervos smiled as he took the key and opened the door. The forge was warm despite not being used at the moment and the hard smell of iron and metal was everywhere.

"We'll look for something that's missing", Tuli said. "I know this place, so I can do the searching."

"Are you all right?" Khervos asked Noka, who seemed a bit disoriented to his mind.

IC Kirgan, Hile and Teede

(Onu-Koro, Great Mine, Secret lab):

"And here I thought you modern Matoran were civilized", Teede said mockingly.

"Enough of this bickering!" Kirgan snapped. "My suggestion is taking Teede to my place and keeping him there. We'll give him up at some point, but I don't want to do that now... is that okay with you guys?"

Noka responded by giving Khervos an empty stare for a moment, shrugged, then turned back to her spot on the wall.

Her fingers gently stroked the hilt of her sword. She itched to draw it, to cut through flesh with its cold, lifeless blade. But she forced herself to relent. These people wouldn't understand. Their small minds did not reach far enough to comprehend her urges. Soon, she would have to have some time away from them, just for a few minutes.

The red and blue Toa eyed the collection of weapons and armor, lights dancing off the shiny, polished metal as they rested with phlegmatic poise on red drapes upon a table, guarded by a wooden gate and the shopkeeper himself. Ra’lhen knew weapons very well, having served an apprenticeship under a weaponsmith for a few decades long ago. Knowing the different types of alloys, differentiating between varying levels of ore quality just by sight and touch, and knowing work most efficiently to save time at the forge while preserving the level of quality expected from a well-credited weaponsmith; Ra’lhen remembered those times fondly, or at least he tried to remember.

Ra’lhen struggled to remember the details of his young years, especially when it came to forging weapons. Had the dark memories of his other past overwritten his more benevolent years?

No, that wouldn’t be fair; that wouldn’t be fair at all.

“Hey Ra’lhen, are you alright?” Stannis asked benignly.

Ra’lhen’s eyes darted towards his travelling buddy, and he then began to analyze his own face. That’s when Ra’lhen realized he had been scowling. He quickly forced a warm smile.

“I’m fine, thanks,” Ra’lhen replied, “Just got lost in thought”

The Toa of Electricity looked at the vast collection of weapons again, gazing with contemplative eyes. After a moment, Ra’lhen looked down at his hips where his Proto-Knuckles were fastened, swaying ever so slightly from the bustling of shoppers around him. Finally, Ra’lhen looked back up at the shopkeeper, who was, for the moment, looking at his merchandise and had his back turned. Saying nothing, the Toa walked over to the shopkeeper, unfastening the rope that held his boxing gloves as he did so.

The shopkeeper whirled around as he heard a dense, metallic-sounding thud on his oak carved table. He looked down on his table to see the near-spherical shapes resting before him.

“What I have is one of a kind,” Ra’lhen said, deep resolve grasping to his words, “a pair of not just any knuckles, but Ronkshou’s Proto-Knuckles. See for yourself.”

Ra’lhen paused for a moment to give the surprised and circumspect Onu-Matoran time to examine the knuckles. After eyeing each angle, the Onu-Matoran began to slowly run his fingers over the dense metal material that coated most of the surface area. It was when the Onu-Matoran reached his right hand into one of the knuckles, and felt the moderately soft but firm shock-absorbing cushioning that Ra’lhen cut in. While the shopkeeper had been checking the tools for authenticity, Ra’lhen had been eyeing his new prize.

“That sword looks as durable as it does ancient,” Ra’lhen remarked, cocking his head towards the glimmering work of weaponsmithing, “That’s hardly a trait you see too much nowadays,”

The storekeeper looked to where Ra’lhen was nodding and saw the sword. Indeed, it was one of the shopkeeper’s most prized pieces of merchandise, and had been at the shop for the longest. The shopkeeper then looked down at the arguably priceless relics and still-practical weapons from the dark days of Makuta. There was also the obvious and uncomfortable fact that the guy who used them best was the one now bartering them.

“The sword… for your Proto-Knuckles?” the shopkeeper confirmed.

There were a moment of tense silence that followed, and Stannis continued to stand close to the side, not yet saying a word.

IC: Wokapu– Onu-Koro Marketplace

“Don’t know, you might have known of her,” Wokapu answered. “After all, there was a time when she was considered the most beautiful Matoran on Mata Nui, which in retrospect, is kinda creepy considering she’s really only a kid... okay, maybe not a kid kid but, y’know; not old enough for other guys to think she’s beautiful, or whatever”

Wokapu then realized that he was trailing off, though he was admittedly surprised that Seria’s expression still held one of interest.

“Sorry, I guess I can get a little overprotective at times,” Wokapu said rubbing the back of his neck, “Big brother instinct, what can you do?”

A sound of knocking suddenly echoed through the hallways. Dia looked up, surprised, and turned to look at the nurse.

"Who or what is that?" Dia asked as she looked around the corner at the glass door that separated the lobby from the hallways of the facility. It was definitely coming from behind the glass door, very faint, but still easily heard.

"Seriously, who's knocking in there?" An overwhelming suspicion suddenly swept through Dia. Was it the toa? Had she come back to consciousness?

When Nurse Kay rushed inside, she was almost knocked to the floor by the swinging arms of the patient as she scrambled to put as much distance between them as possible.

The Onu-Matoran looked at the Toa with concern and warmth in her eyes.

"It's okay, we're not going to hurt you"

She stood pressed against the wall, staring at Nurse Kay with fear and suspicion in her eyes, but that voice... and those eyes... she sounded so sincere. Could she be telling the truth.

After all, it wasn't like she was a stranger to this world, she had lived in it for a fairly long time before her exile, some of it had been forgotten, but many things were still remembered in the back of her mind.

She was in a... a hostipal? No, that wasn't it, but it was somewhere for society's sick and wounded to go to be healed, that much she remembered. Bu why would they give this to her? She didn't deserve it.

She looked at Kay again, ever with the maternal, caring smile beaming at her.

Sitting on a chair had never been so boring before, then again, Ankarya never had to sit idly for extended periods of time. As a blacksmith's assistant, Ankarya was always on the move, fetching this and that for her partner, while also carrying her around if she needed to go somewhere. In fact, she'd probably do anything for Dia, but this was... hard. This wasn't doing something. This was doing nothing. This was waiting. Being patient. Without anything to...

"Yeah, nope" Ankarya got on her feet again and started walking back and forth rapidly. "I can't. I can't wait like this, I can't be forced to sit around and have nothing to do. And for what? A toa we know nothing about? Not even her name, for Irnakks sake, we don't have anything to bind us here, yet you insist we wait here."

Ankarya stood still and looked at her matoran partner for a bit with a heavy expression, before realizing she had fallen asleep. Ankarya sighed, and sat down beside her again. "Alright, a bit longer, but then I'm leaving, with or without you."

No, not until Karzahni froze over would she relinquish that. Not until society was in pieces and gods and titans lay strewn across destiny's battlefield, battered and beaten by the cosmic forces that made the world turn would she give it up.

But she supposed they would have to call her something.

She was still too tired to produce the artificial voice she usually communicated with, her reserves still felt quiet, empty, vacant.

"Gray" would be too hard to communicate, she realized, envisioning sweeping motions with her hands that'd probably make her look like she was having a seizure, but she had another idea.

She lifted her hand and tapped at her mask.

Nurse Kay patiently waited for the Toa's attempts to communicate. She wasn't talking, she noted, which was another hazard she'd have to navigate.

Either way, the Toa was tapping at her mask, Kay got it immediately.

"I understand," she said " you want me to call you Kakama"

She nodded carefully.

"Very well then, Kakama," Kay continued, refusing to cringe over the incredibly novel nickname, "I'd like you to help me, I need your help, see. Think you can do that?"

She was confused, but her curiosity was piqued.

"I need you to help me, so I can help you" Kay continued, nudging carefully with her words, her voice never leaving the calm, comforting octave she'd used many a time before.

"Just go back and lay down on your bed, do you think you can do that for me?" she asked very slowly, studying Kakama for warning signs.

She forced herself to remain calm as she did as Nurse Kay instructed her, and to her simultaneous pleasure and chagrin she felt tempted to fall asleep again in the soft blankets. She breathed calmly as she listened for Kay's response.

"Good, that's it" she said, nodding reassuringly.

"You're going to be fine, your back is more or less patched up, we'd just like you to stay the night to weather any ill effects before you leave, can you do that for us?"

She nodded, she didn't know what else to do.

Nurse Kay closed the door carefully behind her and went over to Ankarya and Dia.

Ankarya knocked lightly on the door, and slowly opened it up, as per Dia's instructions. She stood there, in the doorway, with the door halfway covering both of them. Dia peeked around the door and saw the toa laying on the bed.

"Are you alright?" Dia asked, referring to physical condition and psychological all the same. Dia was quite nervous, not only because of the toa's episode of hysteria, but also because of her own social anxiety. But somehow, when she looked in at the toa, she felt she could trust her, but then again, she wasn't known to be a specifically good judge of character...

"It's okay," Nurse Kay hurried to say when the Toa sat up in alarm, "it's just a couple of people who want to see how you're doing"

She studied the two, noticing that the Skakdi was carrying the Matoran, who was apparently too weak or otherwise unable to walk.

"These two found you and brought you two the hospital, Nurse Kay explained, "they saved your life"

Her eyes widened at this, consdering the odd pair thoughtfully, they both looked so rough and coarse, why had they chosen to help her and no one else?

"They just want to know how you're doing" Nurse Kay explained, attempting to pat the Toa's hand gently,but upon the sensation she retracted her hand swiftly, and looked at Kay with a telling gaze,the Onu-Matoran said nothing as she let her hand dangle by her side instead.

The Toa of Earth huffed through his nose. To Karzahni with his insecurity. The question of his destiny had been eating at him since he had become a Toa, and if anybody could help him figure it out, it was Stannis Maru.

Still carrying his fish, he went to stand near the shop the Toa Maru was visiting. He could wait until his business was finished, certainly. A Toa of his stature was sure to be a busy person. Unlike himself.

Dash it all, his thoughts always found a way to come back to himself. Little insignificant Kehuri. He gripped his fish, his tightening grip poking holes into its tough scales.

Edited by Mj. Spoilers, Mar 13 2014 - 05:29 PM.

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"Power is always dangerous. It attracts the worst, and corrupts the best. [...] It is only given to those who are ready to lower themselves to pick it up."

"I can't blame you. Being a brother to someone is a special bond much like the bond of friendship. Sadly though I never had a brother figure to look up to, or protect me as you are protecitve of her." She said putting away the axe.
She rubbed her arm a bit, which was a sign that she had a mixed feeling of something. Though she couldn't figure out what. It wasn't what Wokapu said to her that made her uneasy, but something that she couldn't remember about her past life that she wanted to find out.